Typographical casting-machine.



P. T. DODGE.

- TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACH'INE.

APPLICATION FlLED SEPT.I3,I9l5. I

Patented Sept. 5,1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

P. T. DODGE.

TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACHINE.

Patented Sept. 5, 1916.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1915- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

| I I J I u HIN) HHl l lH P. T. DODGE.

TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACHINE.

Patented Sepfi. 5,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I3, 1915.

N H "H v Mi/ 1 0 5:; vWHwU 3m ig W/ xv N III iw PHILI]? T. DODGE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO MERGENTHALER LINOTYPE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5,1916.

Application filed September 13, 1915. Serial No. 50,308.

Casting-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

. My invention relates to typographical machines, such as linotype machines of the general organization represented in U. S. Let

ters Patent to O. Mergenthaler, No. 436532, wherein circulating matrices are released from a magazine in the order in whichtheir characters are to appear in print and then assembled in line, the composed line transferred to 'the face of a mold, the mold filled with molten metal to form a slug or linotype against the matrices which produce the type characters thereon, and the matrices thereafter elevated and returned through a distributing mechanism to the magazine from which they started. In these machines the mold is ordinarily carried by a rotary disk which is recessed or cut away to receive it. This recessing of the disk weakens it in such manner that it sometimes springs out of shape, causing defective alinement of the mold; and this is especially true when the disk is equipped with a plurality of molds, as it commonly is, necessitating its reces'sing at as many different points. In addition,

. the molds themselves have a tendency to warp or twist out of shape owing to their peculiar form necessary for their insertionin the recesses of the disk. Aside from these objections, the number of molds which can be mounted in the disk is small because of its limited size, four being the most it can carry at any one time.

My present invention is intended to avoid these and other objections, and aims to provide a construction wherein the molds may be made solid and heavy and preferably of plain rectangular form, and wherein there may be employed a large number of such molds for producing slugs of various sizes or dimensions. To this end, specifically, I propose to mount the molds (to any desired number) in a supporting frame which holds them normally at rest or in storage in the machine, but which is movably arranged so 1 transferred therefrom into a carrier adapted without having to carry with it the burdenas to locate any selected one in position to be to-support it in operative position in the machine. In this way, the carrier may be of strong and simple construction, and may be put through its usual cycles of operation som weight of a number of other molds which are not in use. V

y In the accompanying drawing, I have shown my improvements merely in preferred form and by way of example andas applied to a machine of the class stated, but obviously many changes and variations may be made therein, and in its mode of application, which will still be comprised within the spirit of my invention. Generally speaking, I desire it to be understood that I do not limit myself to any specific form or embodiment, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a front view of a portion of a linotype machine having my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a front view of the improved parts detached; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a-section on the line 44 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a perspective of one of the molds detached; Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the parts in different positions; and Fig. 8 is a modification.

The matrices Y are stored in the magazine A and are released therefrom by the manipulation of'the keyboard mechanism A when I they pass through the channeled raceway A onto the conveyer belt A which delivers them one by one into the assembler B wherein they are composed in line. After the line is composed, the assembler B is raised by its operating handle B to present the line between the jaws C of the transfer carriage, '95 which transports it through the trough or channel D into the channeled support D (Figs. 3, 6 and 7) wherein the line is held in operative relation to the mold X and justified in the ordinary way by the spaceband bar or pusher F and the usual j ustify- .mold slot X after which the mold is moved vertically by its carrier E and located in I front of the ejector blade J which advances through the mold slot and'pushes the slug Z before it (Fig. 7 between the trimming 'kIllVGS K and through the opening H in vator N which delivers them to the dis-' tributing mechanism (not shown) for the return of the individual matrices to their proper channels in the magazine A from ,which they started. As the matrices are carried onto the second elevator bar N, the spacers Y contained in the composed line are separated therefrom (by their failure to engage the bar) and supportedby their protruding ears upon the projecting ledges of the plate 0 which is arranged to be swung upward by the pivoted arm 0 so asto return the spacers to their magazine O .v

The parts so far described are or may be of any well-known or approvedconstruction, and, except as hereinafter pointed out, constitute no part of my present invention. However, in order that the operation of the machine may be fully understood, some of the more prominent details of construction will be briefly described, although for brevity and clearness the connections of the parts with the driving mechanism of the machine will not be referred to.

In the present instance, the transfer carriage is relied u on to'perform three distinct functions: rst, to carry the composed line from the assembler B to the casting mechanism; second, to clamp or hold the line against endwise expansion during its j'ustification by the spaceband bar F; and, third, to carry the matrices after casting onto the second elevator bar N. As shown in Figs. 1, 6 and 7, the two fingers C of the transfer carriage are connected in the usual way by the rod C and are arranged'to he slid back and forthon the horizontal track C by the pivoted arm C and with their active or matrix-engaging surfaces located in the trough or channel D. Fig. 1 shows by dotted lines the line receiving position of the carriage, and byfull lines its casting position. When in this latter position, and as indicated in Fig. 3, the left-hand jaw of the carriage abuts against the adjustable rod C, which, as usual, is adapted to be moved axially a slight extent by the justification bar D before mentioned, to clamp and release the composed line before and 7 after casting. Subsequently, the carriage is moved. to an intermediate position to engage the matrices with the second elevator bar-N, and it is held momentarily in this position until the elevator ascends to deliver the matrices to the distributing mechanism, when it is returned to its original position for receiving the next composed line.

Referring to Figs. 3, 6 and 7, it will be noted that the support D which receives the composed line from the trough Dis supported upon a pair of fore-and-aft plungers D slidably-mounted in bearing sleeves H of the supporting plate H, so as to be movable toward and from the mold X. This movement of the line support D is effected by means of cams D arranged behind angle plates D secured to the front wall of the support, the cams being fast upon the transverse rock shaft D journaled in suitable bearings of the supporting plate H. The rock shaft D is connected by the crank arm D to the vertically movable justifying bar It) so as to be rotated in opposite directions as the latter rises and falls in effecting theclamping and releasing actions on the composed line. Normally the line support occupies the position shown in Fig. 7 away from the mold, and the parts are so related that as the bar D rises to effect the clamping action, it moves the support rearwardly to place the contained line in close contact with the mold, as shown in Fig. 6, andas the bar recedes or returns to its normal position, it moves the support forwardly away from the mold back to the position shown in Fig. 7. It will have been understood that these forward and backward movements of the line support D are to permitthe upward movement of the mold carrier E and also to effect vthe engagement of the lower ears of the matrices Y in the alining grooves X of the mold. Ordinarily, the alinement of the matrices is effected by the upward movement of the line support, but in the present instance it is effected by the downward movement of the mold carrier E,

the latter being arranged to slide vertically in guideways E of the framework and pivoted at its under side to the upright link E which is yieldingly connected to the collar E surrounding the eccentric E The arrangement of these parts is such that when the matrices have been interlocked with the mold,the carrier'E is pulled down to a. slight extent by the eccentric E (the yielding connection of the link. E with the collar E avoiding undue strain) and thereafter, when the matrices have been disengaged from the mold, the carrier 's shifted upwardly by the eccentric .to the position shown in Fig. 7 and by dotted lines in Fig. 2, where-it is held until after the slug Z has been ejected from the mold, when it is returned to its original position for the next casting operation.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the upper one of the knives K is arranged to be adjusted toward and from its companion in order to vary the distance between them to correspond to different sizes or thicknesses of slugs produced in the machine, the upper knife being carried by the adjustable screw K mounted in the supporting plate H.

As before stated, the above parts have been selected merely for purposes of illustration and may be modified to any desired extent so' long as they will function properly with my improvements next to be described.

Located at the left of themold carrier E is a vertically movable supporting frame P carrying a plurality of molds X of various sizes, the number shown being eight, although a smaller or larger number might be employed. The frame P comprises a pair of side members P slidably engaged in guideways vP of the framework and connected together by a series of cross bars P which are formed on their opposing edges (Fig. 4)with projecting tongues P adapted to engage in longitudinal grooves X (Fig. 5) in the upper and lower walls of the molds, the cross bars thus providing between them a series, of mold-holding pockets or compartments. The pockets are closed at the left and open at the right,.s o as to permit the molds to be shifted endwlse into and out of the frame at one side, this result being secured by the attachment of the cross bars to the inner edge of one of the side members and to the front face of the other side member, ,in the manner shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3. In this connection, it will be noted that the carrier E is formed with a single mold holding pocket, which is open at the left and is constituted by the side walls E of the carrier and its end wall E, the latter closing the pocket at the right and the former having on their opposing edges inwardly projecting tongues E to engage in the longitudinal grooves X of the molds. As a result of this construction, any one of the pockets of the supporting frame P may be brought into registration or communication with the pocket of the carrier E, so as to permit a mold to be transferred endwise from one to the other, the mold being guided in its transfer by the engagement of the tongues P and E in its longitudinal grooves X At the point of transfer, the supporting plate H is recessed or oifset as at P to avoid contact with the forward face of the mold during its endwise movement. Normally, one of the pockets of the supporting frame P is vacant (as seen in Fig. 2) so as to receive the active mold supported in the carrier E when it is to be removed therefrom and replaced by another of different size. In effecting the interchange of the molds, therefore, the active mold is first shifted from the carrier into the vacant pocket of the supporting frame, and the latter thereafter moved vertically in one direction or the other t1) bring-the substitute mold opposite the holding pocket of the carrier, when it is shifted endwise thereinto.

The vertical movement of the supporting frame P may be effected in any desired manner, and in the present instance there is employed. for this purpose (see Figs. 2 and 8) a pinion P meshing with a rack P on one of the side members P of the frame, the pinion being fast upon a shaft P1 journaled in the machine frame and provided at its front with an operating handle P To facilitate the movement of the frame, there is employed a counterbalancing spring P pulling down upon the shorter arm of a lever P pivoted between its ends as at P to the machine frame and having its longer arm linked to the supporting frame. To hold the frame in its shifted position, there is provided a spring-actuated detent P mounted in the framework and adapted to engage in a recess P in one or another of the cross bars P If desired, the cross bars may also be provided with indicating marks P to cooperate with a fixed mark on the framework to guide the operator in making the adjustments.

Fig. 8 illustrates a modified form of supportfor holding the molds in inactive position. In this figure, the molds are mounted in pockets R of a rotary wheel R which is arranged to rotate about a fore-and-aft axis so as to locate any selected one of its pockets in horizontal alinement with the mold holding pocket of the carrier E. As

in the previous instance, the opposite walls of the pockets R are provided with inwardly projecting flanges R to engage in the longitudinal grooves'of the molds so as to hold them in place therein and also to guide them properly when they are transferred therefrom into the carrier. The rotation of the wheel R may be effected by a hand operated pinion R meshing with teeth It on the periphery of the wheel.

From the foregoing construction, it will be observed that the machine may be equipped with any suitable number of molds, which may be quickly and easily interchanged for use, and without burdening the mold carrier with the weight of all those not in use, and further, that the molds and their supporting carrier may be made of simple, strong and durable construction LOO so as to reduce the cost of manufacture and construction and mode of operation, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat ent of the United States is as follows:

1., In a typographical casting machine, the combination of a plurality of interchangeable molds, one active at a time, means for supporting the active mold so that it may be moved to different positions in the machine during the operation thereof, and separate and independent means for supporting the remaining molds at rest.

2. In a typographical casting machine, the combination of a carrier to support a mold in active position, a plurality of molds supported independently of said carrier, and means whereby one or another of the molds -may be transferred to the carrier, When desired. p

3. In a typographical casting machine, the combination of a carrier adapted to support a'mold in active position, and a supporting frame holding a plurality of molds in inactive position, said supporting frame .being movably arranged so as to locate one or another of its molds in position to be transferred therefrom to the carrier.

4. In a. typographical casting machine,

the combination of a plurality of interchangeable molds, a carrier to support one of the molds in active position, and a supporting frame to hold theremaining molds in inactive position, said parts being relatively arranged so that any selected mold may be shifted from one to the other at will. 4

5. In a typographical casting machine, the combination of a carrler having a moldholding pocket, and a supporting frame having a plurality of mold-holding pockets, said frame being movably arranged so as to bring one or another of its pockets into assume registration With that of the carrier, for the.

the combination of a carrier having a mold-.

holding pocket open at oneend, and a supporting frame arranged alongside the carrier and having a plurality of mold-holding pockets open at the end, adjacent the mold carrier, said frame being movably arranged so as to bring one or another of its pockets into alinement with the pocket of the carrier so as to permit a mold to be shifted endwise from one tothe other.

7. In a typographical casting machine, the combination of a plurality of molds, a carrier supporting one of them in active position, and a movable supporting frame holding the remaining molds in inactive position, said supporting frame being provided normally with a vacant pocket into which the active mold may be shifted from the carrier, When desired.

8. In a typographical casting machine, the combination of a carrier to support a mold in active position, and a supporting frame to carry a plurality of molds in inactive position, said frame being movable vertically to bring one or another of its molds opposite the carrier, for the purpose described.

9. In a typographical casting machine, the combination of a carrier to support a mold in active position, a supporting frame carrying a plurality of molds in inactive position and movable vertically to bring one or another thereof opposite the carrier, and

signature.

PHILIP 'll. DODGE. 

